Freeway 180 now extends to Clovis Avenue, which is the eastern boundary of the airport. Passengers exit 180 at Peach Avenue then it is 3/4 of a mile on a 4 lane surface street to enter the terminal complex.

Yep, the retail chains are saying the same thing. The latest to open are Cheesecake Factory, Sephora, and a few others. When Sharper Image opened a few years ago their president said he was surprised they were opening in Fresno.

Quoting Loisencroach (Reply 3):I think it will be the first time I've ever been to Fresno sober.

Fresno was my first airport -- FAT-SAN on a Westair Commuter Connection(UA Express) Shorts 360 when I was 4 -- in 1989. Before that I remember waiting in the terminal for my Dad's weekly Friday night return (he had started working for the new company before we relocated and spent a bit of time shuttling it back and forth). I also remember the carpeted rainbow-colored hallways (it's amazing the stuff that sticks in one's head)

The last time I flew to FAT was in the mid 90s -- there was no longer a SAN or ONT nonstop and the amount of extra time it took to fly with a LAX connection vs drive (especially with the increasing security overhead) made it not worth it.

The last time I was there, the terminal had just about completed a fairly major (in my eyes, at least) renovation...and it already seemed like a completely different airport.

I would just about kill for pictures of the inside place pre-renovation.

Lincoln

CO Is My Airline of Choice || Baggage Claim is an airline's last chance to disappoint a customer || Next flts in profile

Well that's indeed great news!!! I really think has a lot of potenciallity and I glad that they are speading!!!! FAT deserves that!!! I'm looking forward to get back there in 2006 and take some good photos!
Does FAT still gets the 3 cargo airlines ( FedEx, UPS and Abex??? ). In my times there I used to see FedEx good old 727-100 flying faithfully there, UPS 757 and Abex 767-200 but also the DC-9 and in one special occasion a DC-8-62!!!
Regards

FAT flyer..thanks for the update. I don't always get a chance to read the Fresno Fishwrap..err Fresno Bee.

Glad to see more improvments scheduled. I dont think the bag claim area is that bad compared to ther mid sized airports..or even some large ones. I d rather see the ticket counter area for most of them improved (AA is the newest already.)

From the article:Airport officials want to enhance car-rental operations because they are a vital revenue generator, coming in second to parking fees. The two sources together are responsible for 45% of the airport's income of about $12.5 million.
About 130,000 vehicles are rented at the airport each year.
"This is a hell of a market," Widmar said. "In Kansas City [where Widmar worked previously], which is 12 times the size of this one, we did $7.2 million in rental-car business. Here, we are on pace this year to do $3 million."

I cannot help but read between the lines.

What I see is Fresno becoming a stronger engine for airline traffic in the valley.
The rental car factor is evidence of people using FAT to reach the smaller, less conveniently served cities and airports.....Places that were one time served (indirectly) by the bookend markets in the state; the LA Basin to the south, and the SF Bay Area (incl. SMF) to the north.

Now, the level of airline service in Fresno is on its way to matching what should be present for a city and region of its size.

My belief is that down the road, this growth will validate increased and improved airline service at the other tertiary airports in the region....that are now more or less being served by Fresno and the "Bookends".
It is inevitable, with the population density continuing to grow, and the road system having not changed in 40 years; something has gotta give; since who wants to spend 6 hours going to the airport to catch a 2 hour flight!?
The case for localized airline service grows stronger everyday....thank goodness!

I couldn't agree with you more. However, the freeway system is about as good as it gets in any non-SFO/LAX city in California. With the exception of CA99 at the outskirts, everything is mostly six-lane. You really can't ask for better than that in California.

They were trying to last time I was there (mid 90s) -- FYI = Fresno Yosemite International -- The airport changed its name, but I beleive I heard somewhere that the FAA wouldn't let them change the code (either someone else already had FYI or the FAA just wasn't into changing airport codes for marketing purposes.

Lincoln

CO Is My Airline of Choice || Baggage Claim is an airline's last chance to disappoint a customer || Next flts in profile

Quoting Loisencroach (Reply 15):My belief is that down the road, this growth will validate increased and improved airline service at the other tertiary airports in the region....that are now more or less being served by Fresno and the "Bookends".
It is inevitable, with the population density continuing to grow, and the road system having not changed in 40 years; something has gotta give; since who wants to spend 6 hours going to the airport to catch a 2 hour flight!?
The case for localized airline service grows stronger everyday....thank goodness!

my point for number of years...unless there is a compelling reason, why would you want to deal with the LAX crap of getting your car then the 405, then the grapvine in potential winter conditions or Tule fog many evenings in the winter once over the Ridge route. Nope, my time is worth more than that to me. That journey could easily be a 5-6 hr ordeal.

Once folk realize the value of their time, flying into FAT makes more and more sense.

OMG!!! I haven't been to FAT since 1991 but the only thing I remember about the terminal was the ceiling-to-ceiling carpeting which changed colors about every 15 feet. When I say ceiling-to-ceiling I mean that the carpeting started on the wall at the ceiling, went down the wall, across the floor, and up the other wall to the ceiling.

Quoting Lincoln (Reply 16):The airport changed its name, but I beleive I heard somewhere that the FAA wouldn't let them change the code (either someone else already had FYI or the FAA just wasn't into changing airport codes for marketing purposes.

I checked and there is no airport with the FYI code. The FAA is very reluctant to change airport codes. The only airports I am aware of which changed codes are IDL to JFK and BAL to BWI.

I'm glad to see the city is trying to bring the whole airport up to par with the new terminal, which is a pleasure to fly out of. One gripe I bring up with it is that the side windows angle down and produce horrible glare unless it's the middle of the day or afternoon. You still have to walk through the old terminal though, and it's definitely stuck in a different decade. As for Fresno itself, it really has been interesting to see it grow in the 15 years I've lived here. Sprawl is definitely rampant. The freeways, save for 99, which is my commute everyday, are a pleasure to drive and pretty efficient. In fact, there was just a story in the Bee about a plan to upgrade 99: http://www.fresnobee.com/business/story/11576547p-12309211c.html . A lot of money involved, and the project itself will probably take years and years to complete. Change is coming around pretty fast.

A six-lane highway from Stockton to Bakersfield seems awfully ambitious, but I hope it happens. To gain "Interstate" designation would be something to see...if I'm not mistaken, Fresno is the largest MSA in the U.S. without an Interstate or U.S. Highway.